This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
The field of nuclear medicine utilizes radioactive material for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes by injecting a patient with an appropriate dose of the radioactive material, which tends to concentrate in certain organs or biological regions of the patient. Radioactive materials typically used in the field of nuclear medicine include Technetium-99m, Indium-111, and Thallium-201 among others. Some radioactive materials naturally concentrate toward a particular tissue, for example, iodine concentrates toward the thyroid. Other radioactive materials may be combined with a tagging or organ-seeking agent, which targets the radioactive material for the desired organ or biologic region of the patient. These radioactive materials alone or in combination with a tagging agent are typically referred to as radiopharmaceuticals in the field of nuclear medicine. At relatively lower doses of the radiopharmaceutical, a radiation imaging system (e.g., a gamma camera) provides an image of the organ or biological region that collects the radiopharmaceutical. Irregularities in the image are often indicative of a pathologic condition, such as cancer. Higher doses of the radiopharmaceutical may be used to deliver a therapeutic dose of radiation directly to the pathologic tissue, such as cancer cells.
A variety of systems and devices are used to generate, transport, dispense, and administer radiopharmaceuticals. A typical radiopharmaceutical process chain may include manufacturing/assembling a radioisotope generator assembly (i.e., a cow) containing a parent radioactive material (e.g., Molybdenum-99), transporting the radioisotope generator assembly to a radiopharmacy, eluting a daughter radioactive material (e.g., Technetium-99m) from the radioisotope generator assembly into a shielded eluate output container (e.g., a vial), extracting one or more doses from the shielded eluate output container into one or more patient dosing tools (e.g., a single dose syringe), transporting the patient dosing tool in a radioactivity shielded assembly (i.e., a pig) to a healthcare facility, and administering the single dose from the patient dosing tool into a patient. The process chain also may include mixing the one or more doses with a kit, for example, a tagging or organ-seeking agent. Moreover, the process chain may include imaging the organ that is targeted by the radiopharmaceutical, and diagnosing the patient based on the concentration/distribution of the radiopharmaceutical in that particular organ. Regarding the manufacture/assembly of the radioisotope generator assembly, the process may specifically include producing a parent radioactive material (e.g., Molybdenum-99) as a by-product of nuclear fission (e.g., uranium fission by-product) or through the use of a particle accelerator (e.g., cyclotron), binding the radioactive parent material to alumina (Al2O3) beads or a resin exchange column, encasing the alumina beads or resin exchange column in a radioactivity shielded generator, and placing the radioactivity shielded generator inside an auxiliary shield. Regarding elution, the process may specifically include supplying an eluant (e.g., a saline solution) into the radioisotope generator assembly, washing out or dissolving the daughter radioactive material from the alumina or resin exchange column into the eluant to produce an eluate, and outputting the eluate into the shielded output container.
Tracking and documentation is particularly important for the foregoing systems, devices, and steps in the process chain in view of the radioactivity, useful life, accountability, and so forth of radiopharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, radiopharmaceuticals are typically disposed inside one or more opaque radiation shielded containers during generation, transportation, dispensing and administration; thus, at least temporarily precluding direct access to the radiopharmaceutical (and information) inside the container during those steps in the process. Further, radiopharmaceuticals tend to be moved from one container to another during various steps in the process, thus adding complexity to the tracking and documentation of desired information. Typically, the tracking and documentation of information relating to radiopharmaceuticals and/or the radiation shielded containers therefor has been accomplished through hand-written records and/or manual entry of data into a computer system. Thus, the information is not readily available in association with a particular radiopharmaceutical system, device, or process. As a result, it may be difficult and/or time consuming to trace a particular radiopharmaceutical back to the original manufacturer, courier, radiopharmacy, system, or device associated with the radiopharmaceutical.